Princeton resident Michael Meyer received the 2013 Youth Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Award in May.
He is a a student of The Jewish Center’s religious school and son of congregants Sherry and Gerard Meyer.
Meyer was honored for a project he completed for his Bar Mitzvah “Hesed,” which requires all Jewish Center B’nai Mitzvah students to complete at least 10 hours of community service.
Meyer’s project reflects his commitment to insure the youth of his generation remember the Holocaust.
The educational project consists of three recorded interviews with Holocaust survivors, a survey to assess viewers’ understanding of the Holocaust and a PowerPoint presentation with basic information about the Holocaust.
Both of Gerard Meyer’s parents both survived the Holocaust. Meyer interviewed his grandmother for the project.
Meyer begins his presentation with a 10 question survey about historical facts of the Holocaust. He then presents a PowerPoint presentation that about the survey’s questions.
This factual discussion is followed by excerpts from his interviews with individuals personally affected by the Holocaust. All of these survivors were children during the Holocaust.
After listening to the stories, which include the separation of a family who were reunited and rescues by Raoul Wallenberg, participants fill out a second survey that is a duplication of the first, but also asks for the participants’ reflection on what affected them most about the stories they heard.
Meyer uses the surveys to determine the level of learning achieved through his presentation.
Michael has already presented this project to students, staff, and parents at the The Jewish Center’s Religious School. He anticipates presenting it to others in his middle school as well as other groups.
Meyer received his award during the 2013 Holocaust/Genocide Teachers Conference at Mercer County Community College in May.
The award is sponsored by the Mercer County Holocaust/Genocide Resource Center Advisory Commission and Kidsbridge Tolerance Museum.
More information is online at thejewishcenter.org.
